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M. GALLAGER.

Self-Priming Gun Lock. No. 17,733. Patented'July 7, 1857.

" TED STATES PATENT orrro MAHLON I. GALLAGER, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

SELF-PRIMING- GUN-LOCK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAHLON I. GALLAGER, of Savannah, county of Chatham,in the State of Georgia, have invented a'new and useful Improvement inFirearms, or more roperly for an attachment to a self-capping ammer forall kinds of firearms; and I do hereby declare that the following is anexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings and the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to that class of firearms which has attached aself-ca ping hammer, with a tube or cylinder for t e reception of theprimers, a sliding rod, which is set in motion by the movement of thehammer, to which it is attached, and working in a groove in the locklate, depositing one primer in the cavity of t e hammer as it approachesthe tube or nipple of the gun, and consists in a slide or shipper on thelock plate, which, being moved out, releases the sliding rod attached tothe hammer by allowing the pivot on the same to move around on the axisof the hammer, in a second groove cut in the lock plate connected withthe first named, when the gun may be used with the ordinary percussioncaps, or as if a self-capping hammer had not been attached. Theparticular advantage claimed for this slide or shipper is for sportingguns, as it enables the sportsman to let down the hammer at will, afterthe gun is cooked, without forcing out a primer or exhausting theprimers in the cylinder without getting a shot.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention orimprovement, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

By pulling back the hammer A, the sliding rod C is drawn down by theaction of the pivot I in the groove D, which groove is in the lock plateF, as shown in the drawing, The sliding rod 0 being drawn below thepellets in the cylinder G, they are moved forward by the spiral springE. As the hammer approaches the tube or nipple of the gun B, the slidingrod 0 forces through the slot L one of the pellets from the cylinder Ginto the cavity of the hammer K, which retains it there until itexplodes on the nipple B, which may be repeated until the pellets in thecylinder G are exhausted.

The slide or shipper H on the lock plate, by being moved out, allows thepivot I to work on the axis of the hammer, in the second groove M cut onthe lock plate, and connecting with the groove D, which relieves thesliding rod C from acting on the pellets contained in the cylinder G,the simple moving of the shipper H allowing the gun to be used as aself-primer, or with the ordinary percussion cap.

I do not claim as my invention the cylinder G, the spiral spring E orthe mode of inserting caps or primers in the hammer for self-primingpurposes, which was invented by N. B. Safi'ern and others, but

What I do claim is The shipper H, which relieves the sliding rod 0 andallows the firearm, to which this improvement is attached, to be usedwith the ordinary percussion cap without exhausting the primers from thecylinder G, or for the convenience of sportsmen, as before described,and without which a self-capping hammer is valueless to a sportsman.

M. I. GALLAGER. Witnesses W. H. GLADDING, H. P. GARDNER.

